Our Burgundy Manifesto

I must confess, for a long time I’ve found Burgundy intimidating - both in complexity of the category and price per bottle. However, we now boast 35 wines from Burgundy (and counting) with an average price of about £40 per bottle, and we’re thrilled to share them with you.

Why bother, you ask?

It’s really good Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (and we love a solid Aligoté, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves). The region of Burgundy is historically the greatest place in the world to grow these grapes and has been for the majority of the last millennia. As a result, yes, they’re valued at a premium. But that’s not to say there aren’t gems to be discovered, and when you hit that sweet spot – woah baby – the good ones have the ability to enthral, and transcend all the bullshit posturing and hype. 

The approach: 

Surround yourself with smart people. We sourced most of our Burgundy selections from two of the best UK importers for the category. When I first attended a Burgundy En Primeur (preview) tasting I felt like I was showing up to an exam that I didn’t study for. As one might expect, these tastings can be stuffy. They skew towards the stereotype: white men in brightly coloured trousers abound, crowding around the show-off bottles in the room that are otherwise reserved for an exclusive few. BUT, it only took a reluctant sip or two for me to realise something:

You can operate on a need-to-know basis, and frankly, you simply don’t need to know all of the intricacies of the region, its appellations, sub-appellations and single vineyard sites to appreciate the wines and identify the most important thing – the intersection of QUALITY and VALUE.

Discover the stand-outs, strike the ones where the price is so high that the juice just ain’t worth the squeeze, and then look to the producers themselves and see if they align with GWGP’s core values:

Wines made with respect for the drinker and the environment. Hands-on vineyard practices, and hands-off winery practices. Wines that boast balance and a sense of place – and above all – they're damn tasty. …Generally speaking, Burgundy is pretty consistent across these tenants – they kind of have to be in order to keep up. 

When the wines are made well, we believe they will have the ability to develop and evolve with age, there’s no rush to crush any of these wines, but we often choose them for immediate drinking pleasure, not to collect dust on a shelf. 

Simply put, we’ve got a damn fine selection of French Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from wonderful producers at outstanding prices.